Recipes

Sea vegetable salad with pickled sour cherries

Photograph: Emma Jervis

Carmel Somers
Sat Jan 6 2018 - 06:00
Serves: 4
Course: Side Dish
Cooking Time: 0 hr 40 mins
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • About 50g dried Seaweed of your choice, a mix is nice.
  • ½ Cup dried sour cherries, soaked for 10 minutes in boiling water – just enough to cover
  • ½ Cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • Dressing:
  • ½ Cup white miso
  • ½ Cup honey or maple syrup
  • ½ Cup merin
  • ¼ Cup sesame oil
  • lemon juice to taste
  • ½inch Ginger or to taste.
  • 2 Beetroots, sliced thinly
  • 3 Medium carrots, sliced thinly
  • 6 radishes, sliced thinly
  • 4 spring onions, sliced thinly
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp onion seeds
  • 2 tbsp poppy seeds
  • ½ sheet dry nori, cut into thin strips (optional)

I have been making many versions of this salad for years. I nearly always have it in the fridge as it’s an instant boost and keeps very well. For evening dinner in the restaurant I make it without the cherries and serve it with pan fried fish and a seaweed butter. In my school lunch box days I would send it with the girls and they would beg me to cut the seaweed fine so others would not notice they were eating it! I often replace dried cranberries for cherries as they are easier to find and less harsh on the pocket. The mixture of vegetables can be altered to suit what is available, I often use regular onion or leek in place of spring onions.

Method

1. Soak the seaweed until soft and pliable, about 30 minutes and give it a good squeeze and chop into bite-size pieces.

2. Bring the cider vinegar and the sugar slowly to the boil, add the cherries and the soaking water and let simmer for a couple of minutes, reducing the liquid a little. Allow to cool.

3. In the meantime, make the dressing by placing all the ingredients in a liquidiser and blending really well to bring out the ginger. Mix all your prepared vegetables and seaweed well together and pour over the dressing tossing everything as you go.

4. Next take a large plate and pile the cooled sour cherries in the middle. Surround them with the seaweed and vegetable salad. Sprinkle the top with the seeds and the cut nori sheets.

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